Piece printing and ejecting device



Feb. 3, 1959 E. scHREMPP PIECE PRINTING AND EJECTING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 6, 1957 F|G.I

xNvENToR Ernst Schrempp BY .M49

ATTORNEY Feb. 3, 1959 v E. SCHREMPP 871,781

PIECE FRINTING AND EJECTING DEVICE Filed May 6, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Ernst Schrempp BY m ATTORNEY United.

This invention'- relatesto afletter ejecting device for use with rotary postage printing and platen' elements to effect the final discharge ofthe letter when the rotary printing element discontinues its drivingengagement with the letter.

Letters of varying length are lnormally printed by therotary printing elements which .also effect thel feed of a I determined length of the letter while printing.-v Unless'v the length of the letter is particularly short, the rotary printer will have completed its .printingand feeding operationbefore the yfull length o f the letter lhas advanced beyond the printing position. y

ln some devices of this character continuously powered "ice,v

2` f cyclically-drivensin any wellknbwn'manneri A riven platen roller 13'cooperates withv the printing' cylin`d`er1'2 to provide counter pressure against thev lower surface ofY thefletterduring printing andto elect the' feeding of the 1 letter While the peripheralsurfaceof the printing cylinder engages with the letter during the printing cycle. Theplaten roller 13 is suitablymounted .on' a shaft 14 Which",` is yieldably supportedwithin the base 10. .and has la gear 15 securedto'onefendthereof. A cylindrical ejector lroller '16,. vwhich is preferably the` same diameter fas the platen roller 13, is mountedon` a" shaft 17, which shaft issupported within :suitable 'bearings'v 18-18 carried by walls 19--19 of an impression bracket" 20. The peripheral surface ofthe ejection roller com# prises a sleeve 2210i high coecient'frictional material.

JiWithin the interioi of the cylindrical ejection roller 16 a coil spring 23is mounted, which spring has one end 23a thereof closely coiled around the shaft 17 and the opposite end thereof 23h secured within one end wall 24 of said'roller. =A `pinion"25-isfixed to the shaft,a's'.at 26,3` and is adapted to be driven by the gear 15 through auf idler gear '27. The :pinion 25 may be of the ratio of about f 1:3 with the drive gear 15 to thereby provideanI accel-ll erated drive of the ejector roller 16 relative to the platen roller 13 through the clutching-'effect of the spring portion '23a coiled around the shaft 17 during the normal drive ejection means provide for the ejection of .the letters.

inasmuch as the power in the present device continues for'only the duration of the printing cycle, the ejection of letters has been provided by other. means.

4Said other means includes the engagement of the leading portion of the letter withanother, driving force before the printing cycle is completed'which driving force will cause energy to `be stored inthe winding of a spring element during the period of the joint engagement of the letter with vthe pu'nting, and the ejecting driving forces.

In otherfwords, while the letter is acted upon by the two lastfnam'ed driving forces, `the second of which is driven faster than the first, a stress occurs which causes thereof. Y. i Associated with .the *ejectorroller 16 is an idler roller 31- whichfis carried by an arrn32 pivotally supported on a bracket 33 at 34. Said arm 32 is extended as at 35 and has one end of a spring36' attached thereto, the other end a partial `checking of the normal drive of lthe second v force, which checking causes the winding action of a spring associated with the second force or ejection roller. Then, as soon as ,the printing cylinder reachesa point where it is no longer in driving engagement withv the letter, `the charged spring will recoil and thereby. continue the drive of the ejector roller.

It is the object of the invention, therefore, to provide v a spring controlled ejection roller drive to effect the nal released from the' drive of a letter or the like after it is drive of a rotary printer.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figyl is a front view of a postage printing machine with parts broken away and showing a letter advancing between a printing element and platen of a printing unit and further showing an ejection roller and associated idler roller with gearing toelect an accelerated drive of the ejection roller from the platen roller;

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section through the `ejection roller taken along the lines 2-2 of Fig. l;

Figs..3, 4, 5 and 6 are diagrammatic operational views illustrating the initial pick-up feed of a letter by the printing unit, Fig. 3, the further feed between the ejection and idler rollers, Figs. 4 and 5, and the consequent nal ejection of the letter resulting from the recoil of a spring element, Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the postage meter comprises a base 16 upon which is mounted a postage meter indicated generally vat 11. A printing cylinder 12, having a portion `of its peripheral surface cut away, is

supported within thel postage meter 11 and is adaptedl tobe of the spring being anchored toa'pin 37 extending from the bracket 33. Said 'bracket also includes a shelf 38* with aninternally threaded nut 39 fixed thereto and has `Y the threaded end of al bolt 41 screwed therein. The- :opposite or lower end of the bolt is rotatably supported within a iloorplate .42 of the meter unit 11. Said bolt 41 is also provided withfa knurled flange or wheel 43l which is adapted to extend beyond the side wall ofthe meter housing for manual manipulation to effect raisingl or lowering of the bracket 33 to thus raise or lower the idler roller 31 relative to the surface of the ejector roller 16. The idler roller 31 may be arranged as two separate roller'elements, as shown in Fig. 2, if desired.

Upon moving a letter to -a printing position between the printing cylinder 12 and platen roller 13, the leading end 'of the letter will effect a normal machine tripping'opera--- tion:by.well.known'means (not shown) which will cause the drive or rotation of theprinting cylinder in the direction of the arrow, as shown in Fig. l. Then, upon en-` gagement of the letter between the surface of the printing Vcylinder and platen roller, as indicated in either Fig. l" or 3, the letter will be advanced to the right in the direction of the ejection roller, and upon the further engagement of the letter between the ejection roller and idler roller, stress will be effected and the accelerated rotation of the ejection roller will be partially checked. As a result ofthe latter condition, the driven shaft 17 and spring portion'23a clutched thereto will effect winding of thel spring 2.3 to store suicient energy to later drive the4 ejector roller about two revolutions. As soon as the Y printing cylinder releases its peripheral drive of the letter, as in Fig. 5, the spring will recoil to its normal condition "i and in so doing will drive the ejection roller in the direcl e tion of the arrow as in Fig. 6 to effect nal ejection of' the letter therebeyond. The two revolution drive of the' -17 and ejection roller 16; also-by adjustment of the ange ejection roller by the spring, during recoil, will be sufticient to advance nine inches of the letter if this amount were remaining to be fed past the -ejection roller.. The above .results have been attained by using the coil spring 23 initially as a drive connection between the shaft or wheel 43 to effect the desired pressure of the idler roller 31 against the surface of the letter at the position of the ejector roller and so control the amount of spring winding;` and by the further use of the coiled portion 23a as a'slip clutch to permit some rotation of the ejector roller after the complete recoil of the spring.

The coiled portion 23a of the spring 23 normally grips the shaft 17 to transmit the drive of the shaft through the main spring 23 to the ejection roller. The latter normally rotates at a 3:1 speed relative to the platen roller before the leading end of a letter reaches the ejection roller. But, as soon as the leading end of the letter reaches said ejector roller, the pressure of the idler roller 31 and the frictional coefficient of the roller 16 become effective to partially check or retard the rotation of the ejector roller to thereby cause the spring to Wind and store energy which is later released to drivel the ejector roller when the letter becomes free from the bite of the printing cylinder 12 and platen roller 13. The winding or stored tension of the spring 23 is now released thus continuing the letter advancing drive of the ejection roller at an accelerated speed to effect complete ejection of the letter.

When recoil of the spring is complete, the momentum of the ejection roller will continue the rotation thereof as a result of the clutch feature of the coil 23a. This provides a further drive, which is advantageous where unusually long envelopes are used.

What is claimed is:

1. In a piece printing and ejecting device, two coacting elements for printing said piece including a printing cylinder and platen roller, two coacting elements for ejecting the printed piece including an ejection roller and idler roller, means to drive the printing elements during a printing cycle, means to drive the ejection roller faster than the printing elements during a printing cycle, and energy storing means between the ejection roller drive and the ejection roller to effect storage of driving energy in said ejection roller resulting from a speed reduction of the ejection roller due to a restraining influence effected by frictional engagement of the ejection roller with a piece while the piece is stressed between the printing and ejecting elements, whereby the piece may be ejected by the ejection elments after release from the bite of the printing cylinder and platen roller.

2. In a piece printing and ejecting device, two coacting elements for printing said piece including a printing cylinder and platen roller, two coacting elements for ejecting the printed piece including an ejection roller and idler roller, means to drive the printing elements during a printing cycle, means to drive the ejection roller faster than the printing elements during a printing cycle, and a coil spring having a driving connection between the ejection roller drive and ejection roller to effect storage of driving energy within the spring resulting from a speed reduction of the ejection roller due to a restraining inuence effected by frictional engagement Iof the ejection roller with a piece while the piece is stressed between the printing and ejecting elements, whereby the piece may be ejected by the ejection elements after release from the bite of the printing cylinder and platen roller.

3. The combination with piece feeding rollers, of a frictional surfaced ejection roller having a cylindrical bore, a pressure applying idler roller associated with the ejection roller, a shaft supporting the ejection roller, a coil spring within the bore of the ejection roller, one end of said spring being coiled around the shaft in a direction which will effect clutching of the shaft and the other end being fixed to the ejection roller, a drive operative between one of the piece feeding rollers and said shaft while a piece is being fed to effect an increased peripheral speed of the ejection roller relative to the peripheral speed of the feeding rollers, whereby the driven shaft will wind the spring while the piece is stressed between both the feeding rollers and the ejection and idler rollers, the winding resulting from a speed reduction of 2,871,781 i Y a .A e

the ejection roller due to a restraining influence effected by frictional engagement of the ejection roller surface with a piece and being effective in continuing the drive of the ejection roller after the piece becomes free from the feeding rollers.

4. The combination with piece feeding rollers, of a frictional surfaced ejection roller having a cylindrical bore, an idler roller, means to variably urge the idler roller against the surface of the ejection roller, a shaft supporting the ejection roller, a coil spring within the bore of the ejection roller, one end of said spring being coiled around the shaft in a direction which will effect clutching of the shaft and the other end being fixed to the ejection roller, a drive operative between one of the piece feeding rollers and` said shaft while a piece is being fed to effect an increased peripheral speed of the ejection roller relative to the peripheral speed of the feeding rollers, whereby Vthe driven shaft will wind the spring while the piece is stressed between both the feeding rollers and the ejection and idler rollers, the winding being proportionate to the pressure of the idler roller against the ejection roller to effect reduction 'in speed of the ejection roller due to a restraining iniuence effected by frictional engagement of the ejection roller surface with a piece and resulting in the continued drive of the ejection roller accordingly after piece leaves the feeding rollers.

5. The combination with a rotary printing cylinder and platen roller for printing postage on letters wherein letters are advanced along a horizontal plane while impinged between said printing cylinder and platen roller; of means cooperating with the printing cylinder and platen roller to effect ejection of the letter after it is released from the bite of the printing `cylinder and platen roller and comprising, a cylindrical ejection roller, a driven shaft supporting the ejection roller and rotatable at a speed greater than the speed ofthe platen roller, anidler roller operatively associated with the ejection roller, said ejection roller and idler roller being horizontally spaced from the printing cylinder and platen roller and in the path of the letter so that the letter may become bridged therebetween, a coil spring mounted within the cylindrical ejection roller and having one end called around the shaft in a direction to effect clutching thereof while the letter is in a bridging position and having the other end fixed to the ejection roller, whereby the driven shaft will effect winding of the spring while the letter is stressed between the platen roller and ejector roller positions as a result' of a speed reduction of the ejection roller due to a restraining inuence effected by frictional engagement of the ejection roller with a letter, the wound spring becoming effective to continue the drive of the letter to an ejection position after the letter is released from the bite of the printing cylinder and platen roller.

6. The combination with a rotary printing cylinder and platen roller for printing postage on letters wherein letters are advanced along a horizontal` plane while irnpinged between said printing cylinder and platen roller; of means cooperating with the printing cylinder and platen roller to effect ejection of the letter after it is released from the bite of the printing vcylinder and platen roller and comprising, a cylindrical ejection roller, a shaft supporting the ejection roller, an accelerated drive between the platen roller and ejection roller shaft whereby the shaft is rotatable at a speed greater than the speed of the platen roller, an idler roller operatively associated with the ejection roller, said ejection roller and idler roller being horizontally spaced from the printing cylinder and platen roller and in the path of the letter so that the letter may become bridged therebetween, a coil spring mounted within the cylindrical ejection roller and having one end coiled around the shaft in a direction to effect clutching thereof while the letter is ina bridging position and having the other end fixed to the ejection roller, whereby the driven shaft will effect winding of the spring while the letter is stressed between the platen roller and ejector roller positions as a result of a speed reduction of the ejection roller due to a restraining influence effected by frictional engagement of the ejection roller with a letter, the wound spring becoming eective to continue the drive of the letter to an ejection position after the letter is released from the bite of the printing cylinder and platen roller.

7. The combination with a rotary printing cylinder and platen roller for printing postage on letters wherein letters are advanced `along a horizontal plane while impinged between said printing cylinder and platen roller; of means cooperating with the printing cylinder and platen roller to effect ejection of the letter after it is released from the biteof the printing cylinder and platen roller and comprising, a cylindrical ejection roller, a driven shaft supporting the ejection roller and rotatable at a speed greater than the speed of the platen roller, a spring urged idler roller operatively associated with the ejection roller, means to adjust the idler roller relative to the ejection roller, said ejection roller and idler roller being in the same plane and horizontally spaced from the printing cylinder and platen roller and in the path of the letter so that the letter may become bridged therebetween, a coil spring mounted within the cylindrical ejection roller and having one end coiled around the shaft in a direction to effect clutching thereof while the letter is in a bridging position and having the other end xed to the ejection roller, whereby the driven shaft will eiect winding of the spring while the letter is stressed between the platen roller and ejector roller positions as a result of a speed reduction of the ejection roller due to a restraining iniluence effected by frictional engagement of the ejection roller with a letter, the wound spring becoming effective to continue the drive of the letter to an ejection position after the letter is released from the bite of the printing cylinder and platen roller.

8. The combination with a rotary printing cylinder and platen roller for printing postage on letters wherein letters are advanced along a horizontal plane while impinged between said printing cylinder and platen roller; of means cooperating with the printing cylinder and platen roller to effect ejection of the letter afterit is released from the bite of the printing cylinder and platen roller and comprising, a cylindrical ejection roller, a driven shaft supporting the ejection roller and rotatable at a speed greater than the speed of the platen roller, a yieldable idler roller operatively associated with the ejection roller, an adjustable mounting yfor said idler roller including means to raise or lower the mounting to move the idler roller relative to the ejection roller, said ejection roller and idler roller being spaced from the printing cylinder and platen roller and in the path of the letter so that the letter may become bridged therebetween, a coil spring mounted within the cylindrical ejection roller and having one end coiled around the shaft in a direction to effect clutching thereof While the letter is in a bridging position and having the other end fixed to the ejectionroller, whereby the driven shaft will elect winding of the spring while the letter is stressed between the platen roller and ejector roller positions as a result of a speed reduction of the ejection roller due to a restraining influence elected by frictional engagement of the ejection roller with a letter, the wound spring becoming elective to continue the drive of the letter to an ejection position after the letter is released from the bite of the printing cylinder and platen roller.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

